On January 16, Bernalillo County Sheriff (BCSO) deputies were dispatched to a “down and out” in the Pajarito Mesa, a sprawling area southwest of the city. The deputies found 30-year-old Yahaira Rodriguez dead and a murder victim.

On Sunday, February 21, at approximately 3 a.m. in the morning, 3 vehicles pulled into an empty Albertsons parking lot in the South Valley. Four men got out of the vehicles and began talking. Gunfire soon erupted, leaving Jose Garcia dead and another man shot in the head and arm. Although BCSO did not notify the media or public about Garcia’s homicide more than six weeks ago, it did issue a news release announcing the arrest and booking of Kristopher Gonzalez, 27, on an open count of murder for the killing of Garcia.

On April 8, the Albuquerque Journal reported that BCSO waited until the week of April 5 to report on the 2 homicides that occurred in the county and being investigated by the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office. Further, the BCSO waited until April to report that the December 2020 death of Francine Gonzales, 36, on the West Side was ruled a homicide after an autopsy in late March.

The link to the full report is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2377985/sheriffs-office-was-mum-on-2021-homicides.html

According to the Journal report, in previous years, including 2020, BCSO regularly sent out email and Twitter alerts when BCSO detectives opened a homicide investigation. BCSO usually gave details on the incident and solicited tips from the public. Until April 7, BCSO had been silent on the 2021 cases, yet increased email and Twitter notifications for warrant roundup operations and “repeat offender” arrests often criticizing the actions of courts for previously releasing the suspects.

BCSO Transparency and Public Information Coordinator Jayme Fuller explained the delay in reporting on the 2 homicides as not always told about homicides, or other incidents, until reporters ask about them and they confirm them with supervisors.

The most troubling fact in the Journal report was glossed over. Buried in the article is the statement:

“Last year, BCSO’s crime statistics were not included in the annual FBI report because the agency didn’t meet the March deadline to report them, and they couldn’t be certified in time.”

The problem is that the yearly FBI statistics are the best measure as to performance measures of BCSO. Further, Bernalillo County and BCSO rely upon those statistics to secure federal grant funding.

MAYOR TIM KELLER AND APD REDACT PERFORMANCE MEASURES

BCSO and Sheriff Manny Gonzales are not the only elected official and law enforcement agency that has failed recently to be transparent when it comes to statistics used to gauge performance. On April 1, 2021, the Keller administration released the 2021-2022 Proposed Operating Budget for the fiscal year that will begin on July 1, 2021 and end June 31, 2022.

When it comes to the Albuquerque Police Department’s (APD), budget, statistics are compiled in areas that reflect performance and outcomes aimed at influencing the larger outcomes and goals that APD is striving to achieve. The performance measures capture APD’s ability to perform the services at the highest level achieved from the previous year and the “target” level for the new fiscal year. Target levels and percentages are merely goals that may or may not be achieved.

The performance measures are absolutely critical in order for the City Council to understand fully the shortcomings and strengths of APD and make critical budget decisions. Without such statics, budget review and decisions are done in the dark and in a real sense become useless, become an exercise in futility and the city council is relegated to rubber stamping whatever budget is presented to them.

For purposes of the proposed 2021-2022 budget, the Keller Administration made the decision to “reimagine how the City looks at performance and progress measures for services to the Albuquerque community. To kick off this work, APD is one of six departments piloting this new approach. As such, the performance measures section will look different from the rest of the departments in this document.”

(2022 Proposed APD Budget, page 149, INNOVATION introduction)

The result of the “reimagining” is a total absence of many statics from the previous fiscal years of 2019, 2020 and 2021. Because of the so called “reimagining”, actual performance statistics from previous years are deleted in the proposed budget and only “targeted statistics” for the 2022 fiscal year are provided. “Targeted” statistics or goals are provided but may never materialize.

When you look at the performance measures contained in APD’s budget, what appears is an actual “redacting” of critical statistics that renders the other statistics meaningless. APD is the one city department that is under a Department of Justice Consent decree with a Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) mandating 271 reforms. The CASA mandates 3 performance measures to be audited by a Federal Monitor.

The link to a related blog article entitled “Keller Administration “Redacts” APD’s Performance Measures In 2022 Budget; Gives Lame Excuse Of “Reimagining”; Failure To Disclose Material Facts Is Fraud” is here:

https://www.petedinelli.com/2021/04/06/keller-administration-redacts-apds-performance-measures-in-2022-budget-gives-lame-excuse-of-reimagining-failure-to-disclose-material-facts-is-fraud/

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

The April 8 Albuquerque Journal article essentially calls out Sheriff Manny Gonzales for his office’s failure in transparency. To quote the report:

“In a May 2018 Journal candidate questionnaire for his reelection, Sheriff Manuel Gonzales said “providing high level transparency and accountability” was first on his list of “most important action(s)” in his career with BCSO.

“Empowering deputies has enhanced our community outreach and improved communication with citizens,” he said.

Since his reelection, Gonzales – who is contemplating a run for mayor of Albuquerque this year – has regularly emphasized a tough on crime approach in news releases, briefings and interviews but doesn’t often talk about transparency.

“Our community is living in fear as violent crime rises. We need to reform our justice system to keep our streets safe and protect the law-abiding majority,” Gonzales said in a statement in a March email spotlighting the release of a repeat offender”

BCSO’s crime statistics not being included in the annual FBI report was likely no mistake. BCSO Sheriff Manny Gonzales has notified the City Clerk that he is running for Mayor. No doubt Gonzales wants to hide the statistics that show our out-of-control high crime rates are just as bad in the county as in the city.

Sheriff Gonzales and his BCSO are just as hapless in dealing with spiking crime rates as Mayor Keller and APD.

During the 2021 New Mexico Legislative Session that ended on March 19, 158 bills were enacted. Friday, April 9, 2021 was the deadline for Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham to sign or veto any and all legislation enacted by the 2021 New Mexico Legislature’s 60-day session that ended on March 19. Any bills not signed by April 9, 2021 were automatically vetoed and it is referred to as the “pocket veto”.

Following is a breakdown of major bills signed into law:

HOUSE BILLS

House Bill 6: Allocates $60 million in federal Impact Aid to districts with vast amounts of tribal and other tax-exempt land. The funding will go to school districts that have a small tax base because they cover tax-exempt land for Native American communities and military bases. The state previously deducted much of the federal money from the districts’ funding allocation, blocking the funds from reaching their intended target.

House Bill 4 : Establishes the state Civil Rights Act. The Civil Rights Act was a major priority of the Governor. The law allows the filing of lawsuits in state District Court against a public agency and their employees, including police officers, for violation a person’s rights under the state Bill of Rights. The law also bars “qualified immunity” as a defense to the claims. Qualified Immunity is legal a legal defense available in federal court.

House Bill 10: Creates the “Connect New Mexico Council” to help coordinate broadband development.

House Bill 20: Requires private businesses to provide paid sick leave for their workers. The paid sick leave takes effect July, 2022. New Mexico joins 15 other states in requiring businesses to provide paid sick leave for their workers.

House Bill 29 and Senate Bill 80: Prohibits discrimination in schools based on a student’s cultural headdress or certain hairstyles, such as braids, cornrows or weaves.

House Bill 47: “End of Life” legislation. This bill enables patients who are terminally ill with the capacity to make informed decisions at the end of their lives to obtain medication for self-administration to help them avoid significant pain and suffering at the end of their lives. The legislation includes significant safeguards for patients and medical practitioners alike. A provider must, among other checks and balances, determine that the terminally ill patient has the mental capacity to make an informed and voluntary decision as well as the capacity to self-administer the medication.

House Bill 55: The bill adds transparency to the capital outlay process and requires the publication of how legislators allocate their capital outlay money. This is considered a transparency measure under debate for years and has been resisted by legislators.

House Bill 68: Expanding the Space Flight Informed Consent Act.

House Bill 76: Allowing denial of air-quality permits to companies convicted of environmental crimes in other states.

House Bill 128: Imposes new reporting requirements for misconduct by school personnel.

HB 177: The Homemade Food Act allows people to sell homemade foods directly to consumers, including out of their home, online and through the mail. It eliminates the burdensome permit requirement that is currently required by the state Environmental Department. It legalizes sales in Albuquerque. New Mexico had one of the strictest laws in the country on homemade food sales with 49 states allowing the sale of foods made in a home kitchen.

House Bill 222: Establishes an ombudsman’s office to investigate and resolve problems with special education.

House Bill 231: Protects polling locations on Native American land.

House Bill 234: Increases oversight of the state’s guardianship system, including new subpoena powers for the State Auditor’s office to access records.

House Bill 266: Requires additional training for certain special education teaching licenses.

House Bill 270: Permitting the testing of self-driving vehicles on New Mexico roads.

House Bill 291: Low Income Comprehensive Tax Rebate and the Working Families Tax Credit. The bill allows the maximum rebate for tax breaks for low-income families to increase from $450 to $730 per year, depending on family size and income levels. According to the Taxation and Revenue Department upwards of 550,000 New Mexico taxpayers will be able to benefit from the tax breaks or about 55% of the total number of state personal income tax filers. Under the legislation, 42,000 New Mexicans from the ages 18 to 24 who were previously not eligible for the Working Families Tax Credit, along with roughly 10,000 immigrant workers who are not U.S. citizens will be allowed to claim the credits.

House Bill 317: Creates new health care affordability fund financed by higher surtax on insurance companies.

SENATE BILLS

Senate Bill 1 (special session): Expands the Local Economic Development Act to allow new incentives designed to recruit large companies to New Mexico. The law authorizes some of the tax revenue generated by large-scale construction projects of $350 million or more be recaptured and used by the state’s “closing fund” to offset the costs of business expansions and relocations.

Senate Bill 8: Allows the state and local governments to set pollution control standards that are stricter than those imposed by the federal government.

Senate Bill 17: Allocates $30 million over the next two years to schools serving a concentration of low-income families with the funding earmarked for math, reading and other programs to support students.

Senate Bill 32: The legislation will ban traps, snares and wildlife poisons on public land. It passed the New Mexico House by one vote, 35-34.

Senate Bill 40: Makes it easier to participate in extended learning and K-5 Plus programs.

Senate Bill 42: Increases taxpayer-funded contributions into the pension system for educators. Government employers will increase their contributions into the fund by 1% for each of the next two years. Legislative finance analysts project the cost will be $34 million in 2022 and $68 million in 2023 fiscal years.

Senate Bill 84: The Community Solar Act is enabling legislation that allows residential consumers, small businesses and some public institutions to directly purchase solar-generated electricity from private developers who will build and operate community-scale facilities around the state. A broad coalition of clean energy advocates supported the bill to provide renters, low-income households, and commercial and government entities that lack capacity for rooftop installations to tap into solar generation.

Senate Bill 93: Establishes a state Office of Broadband Access and Expansion. New Mexico has ranked among the worst states in broadband access. According to a Legislative Council services report 21% of students in public schools in the state live in households without internet subscriptions, according to a 2020 legislative report.

Senate Bill 94: This bill makes major changes when it comes to college sports and allows college athletes to earn money from endorsements and similar work. NCAA rules prohibit such earnings by collegiate and the places New Mexico in conflict with NCAA rules. Nonetheless other states have passed similar legislation thereby placing pressure on NCAA to modernize its rules for student-athletes.

Senate Bill 140: This bill updates New Mexico’s child support laws to avoid the loss of $148 million in federal funding.

Senate Bill 160: This extends public financing to District Court candidates. Currently, public finance is available to Court of Appeals and Supreme Court candidates.

Senate Bill 219: Removing citizenship or legal residency requirements for certain occupational licenses.

Senate Bill 223: This bill authorizes $22 million in cigarette tax revenue bonds to expand the Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of New Mexico.

Senate Bill 304: Establishing the Citizen Redistricting Committee. The bill establishes a 7-member committee to propose 3 maps for New Mexico’s congressional and legislative districts. The 7-member committee is designed to limit the political influence over the redistricting of federal congressional and state district legislative districts. A retired appellate Judge will chair the committee. Legislators retain the authority to select one of the maps or amend them. Under the bill, the Redistricting Committee cannot rely on partisan or party-registration data to draw district maps. It can consider the addresses of incumbents only to avoid pairing them in one district while weighing other criteria.

GOVERNOR SIGNS $7.4 Billion Budget

On April 9, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the $7.4 billion dollar budget bill enacted by the state legislature during the 2021 regular legislative session. The budget includes investments for public education, early childhood well-being, economic development and pandemic relief, and behavioral health and infrastructure.

KEY APPROVED APPROPRIATIONS

The approved and signed budget includes:

Spending will increase 5% over the amended fiscal year 2021 budget, with 36% of new General Fund spending going to education initiatives.
Budget includes 1.5% raises for public school and higher ed personnel, as well as state employees and frontline health and social service workers.
$30.7 million increase to the Human Services Department to expand mental health and substance use disorder services.
$17.5 million increase for projects funded through the Local Economic Development Act.
$12 million in additional funding for the Opportunity Scholarship and Lottery Scholarship.
$17 million to restore and revitalize the state’s all-important tourism economic sector as New Mexico works toward the end of the COVID-19 pandemic
$300 million for roadway infrastructure and improvements.

HOUSE BILL 285

The governor also signed House Bill 285 which funds more than $511 million in projects across the state, including:

$10 million for improvements at correctional and health facilities
$12.5 million for Local Economic Development Act projects.
$52 million for tribal projects.
Nearly $48 million for public safety projects
$61 million for water and wastewater projects.
$49 million for higher ed institutions.
Upwards of $34 million for public schools.
$53 million for road projects.
More than $8 million for acequias, ditches and dams.

GOVERNOR’S STATEMENT

Gov. Lujan Grisham issued the following statement:

“This budget is responsible and responsive to the needs of New Mexicans right now and in the future. This legislative season has been a remarkable success for New Mexicans in every corner of our state – with almost a billion dollars in new targeted pandemic relief for businesses and workers and more, with groundbreaking new initiatives in economic development and health care and environmental protection, and with, finally, a solid and sustainable budget that maintains and increases funding for key programs that benefit children and families and workers while ensuring our reserves remain robust and healthy. I want to thank the Legislature and Department of Finance and Administration staff for their diligent work throughout this budget process.”

Links to news sources are here:

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/gov-lujan-grisham-signs-new-mexico-state-budget-/6069431/

https://www.krqe.com/news/politics-government/gov-lujan-grisham-signs-new-mexico-state-budget/

https://www.koat.com/article/gov-lujan-grisham-signs-state-budget/36079049

BILLS VETOED

Friday, April 10, was the deadline to sign or veto bills enacted in the 2021 legislative session. In total, she vetoed 12 bills with veto messages outlining her objections, and she “pocket vetoed” 6 more bills without taking action.

Included in the vetoes were the following:

House Bill 103: This bill sought to raise about $179,000 in revenue through changes to fees paid by water and sewer utilities. In her veto message, Lujan Grisham described the fee increases as unreasonable.

House Bill 240: This bill was to fund a 24-hour emergency health care facility to Valencia County and allowed certain property tax revenue in Valencia County to be dedicated to the effort.

Senate Bill 328: This bill would have allowed for the extension of a water and sanitation gross receipts tax beyond the initial six years approved by voters. Lujan Grisham said voters should decide whether to extend the tax.

Senate Bill 375: This bill would have required annual training of all law enforcement in de-escalation techniques, crisis intervention and responding to people in a mental health crisis. In her veto message, the Governor said she did not object to the extra training but said she couldn’t support the bill because it would have changed the composition of the Law Enforcement Academy Board, weakening civilian oversight.

VETO RATES

The governor vetoed 18 of the 158 bills sent to her by the Legislature in the regular session, a rejection rate of 11%. According to legislative records, Republican Susana Martinez, who served from 2011-18, vetoed about 28% of the bills passed during regular sessions of her administration, and Democrat Bill Richardson, who served from 2003-10, rejected about 15%, according to legislative records.
https://www.abqjournal.com/2378562/lujan-grisham-issues-17-vetoes-on-deadline-day.html

The listing of all bills signed and vetoed can be found at this link:

https://www.sos.state.nm.us/legislation-and-lobbying/signed-chaptered-bills/

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Although Friday, April 9, 2021 was the deadline for Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham to sign or veto any and all legislation enacted by the 2021 New Mexico Legislature’s 60-day session that ended on March 19, the deadline does no apply to the Special Session. The Governor has more time to sign the legislation legalizing the retail sales of marijuana that was passed in the 2-day special session. The Governor has until April 20 to sign it and the accompanying bills regarding the expungement of cannabis related convictions.

It is something that happens all the time. People do not disclose facts or information to others because it may cause trouble or be embarrassing to them. They usually do not believe that failing to disclose is lying. When it comes to the law, either criminal or civil law, the failure to disclose material facts, ones that are necessary to make an informed decision, is fraud.

So it goes with the 2022 proposed city budget submitted by Mayor Tim Keller’s administration by failing to disclose critical statistical performance measures of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD). On April 1, 2021, the Keller administration released the 2021-2022 Proposed Operating Budget for the fiscal year that will begin on July 1, 2021 and end June 31, 2022. As required by state law, the budget is a balance budget.

The link to the budget is here:

https://documents.cabq.gov/budget/fy-22-proposed-budget.pdf

EDITOR’S NOTE: The postscript to this bog article provides a summary of APD’s budget highlights.

PERFORMANCE BASED BUDGET STATISTICS ABSENT FROM APD BUDGET

The entire City of Albuquerque budget is what is referred to as a performance-based budget. The City’s budget is formulated in two parts: 1. A financial plan and 2. Performance plan.

The Financial Plan is organized by department budgets and funds, and program strategy. Funds are groupings of related accounts that are used to maintain control over resources that have been segregated for specific activities.

The Performance Plan is organized by goals, desired community conditions, and program strategy. A goal is a long-term result that is further defined by desired community conditions that would exist if the goal were achieved.

https://www.cabq.gov/dfa/budget

When it comes to the Albuquerque Police Department (APD), statistics are compiled in areas that reflect performance and outcomes aimed at influencing the larger outcomes and goals that APD is striving to achieve. The performance measures capture APD’s ability to perform the services at the highest level achieved from the previous year and the “target” level for the new fiscal year. Target levels and percentages are merely goals that may or may not be achieved.

The performance measures are absolutely critical in order for the City Council to understand fully the shortcomings and strengths of APD and make critical budget decisions. Without such statics, budget review and decisions are done in the dark and in a real sense become useless, become an exercise in futility and the city council is relegated to rubber stamping whatever budget is presented to them.

For purposes of the proposed 2021-2022 budget, the Keller Administration made the decision to

“reimagine how the City looks at performance and progress measures for services to the Albuquerque community. To kick off this work, APD is one of six departments piloting this new approach. As such, the performance measures section will look different from the rest of the departments in this document.”

(2022 Proposed APD Budget, page 149, INNOVATION introduction)

The result of the “reimagining” is a total absence of many statics from the previous fiscal years of 2019, 2020 and 2021. .Because of the so called “reimagining”, actual performance statistics from previous years are deleted in the proposed budget and only “targeted statistics” for the 2022 fiscal year are provided. “Targeted” statistics or goals are provided but may never materialize.

Tim Keller has been Mayor for the full fiscal years of 2018, 2019, and 2020 and APD has been under the management of his appointed Chief’s as well as the Department of Justice consent decree.

SIX CORE SERVICES

APD provides six core services: Patrol, Community Policing, Special Operations, Dispatch, Investigations and Support Services. The performance measures in all 6 core service categories in the 2021-2022 proposed budget are summarized as follows:

PATROL

Under the core service of Patrol there are 11 performance measures listed. There are no statistics provided in 7 of the 11 measures for the fiscal years 2019, 2020 and 2021. There are no statistics for response times for priority 1 calls answered within 10 minutes, and no response times for priority 2 and 3 calls.

No statistics are provided for the years 2019, 2020 and 2021 as to the percentage of use of force incidents that met policy standards. No statistics are provided for2019, 2020 and 2021 Traffic Enforcement DWI checkpoints

The statics are “redacted” with a gray box area.

(2022 Proposed APD Budget, page 150)

COMMUNITY POLICING

Under the core service of Community Policing, there are only 2 performance measures and the are: 1. Problem-Oriented Policing (POP) Projects and 2. Community Engagement Activities Officers Participated. There are absolutely no statistics provided for fiscal years 2019, 2020 and 2021.

There are 25 Problem-Oriented Policing (POP) Projects that are targeted for 2022 and 950 Community Engagement Activities by Officers targeted for 2022.

Virtually all of APD’s Community Policing Measures in the 2 measures listed are “redacted” with a gray box area.

(2022 Proposed APD Budget, page 150)

EDITOR’S NOTE: In 2017 when Tim Keller was running for Mayor, he promised to return Community Based policing.

SPECIAL OPERATIONS

Under the core service of Special Operations, there are only 2 performance measures of “Tier Level (1-4): FEMA and National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA) certification” and “# monthly hours of tactical training per Special Operations officer”, with absolutely no statistics provided for fiscal years 2019, 2020 and 2021. The performance measures listed are “redacted” with a gray box area.

(2022 Proposed APD Budget, page 151)

DISPATCH

Under the core service of Dispatch, there are 4 performance measures and with no statistics provided on calls answered within 15 seconds with the national standard being 90% and calls answered within 20 seconds with the national standard of 95%.

(2022 Proposed APD Budget, page 151)

The total number of 911 calls are listed as follows:

Number of 911 calls answered in 2018 were 338,765.
Number of 911 calls answered in 2019 were 345,729.
Number of 911 calls answered mid-year 2021 were 177,465

INVESTIGATIONS

Under the core service of Investigations, there are 7 performance measures in the general category of “Solving Crime”, with no clearance rates provided for crimes against persons (e.g., murder, rape assault), no clearance rates provided for crimes against property (e.g., robbery, bribery, burglary) and no clearance rates provided for crimes against society (e.g., gambling, prostitution and drug violations) for the fiscal years 2019, 2020 and 2021. The performance measures listed are “redacted” with a grey box.

(2022 Proposed APD Budget, page 151)

EDITOR’S NOTE: On Wednesday, February 24, 2021 APD Police Chief Harold Median released the city’s 2020 crime statistics as reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). It was the third year in a row that the APD has compiled crime statistics using the National Incident-Based Reporting System and the 3 crime categories of crimes against persons, crimes against property and crimes against society.

What are listed are the “Proposed” statistics for Investigations, for Fiscal Year 2022 that will be APD’s goals for the new fiscal year. The proposed clearance rate for crimes against persons (e.g., murder, rape assault) is 54%, the proposed clearance rate for crimes against property (e.g., robbery, bribery, burglary) is 20%, and the proposed clearance rate for crimes against society (e.g., gambling, prostitution and drug violations) is 80%.

Under the core service of Investigations, homicide clearance rates are provided. In 2019, APD had a homicide clearance rate of 57%, in 2020 the homicide clearance rate was 53%, and in mid-year 2021, the homicide clearance rate was a very disappointing 37%.

Under the core service of Investigations, the following arrest statistics are provided:

NUMBER OF FELONY ARRESTS:

2019: 10,945
2020: 6,621

NUMBER OF MISDEMEANOR ARRESTS

2019: 19,440
2020: 16,520

NUMBER OF DWI ARRESTS

2019: 1,788
2020: 1,230

(2022 Proposed APD Budget, page 151)

EDITOR’S NOTE: the 2021-2022 proposed budget “performance measures” for APD are down by the thousands as to Felony Arrests and Misdemeanor Arrests for the years 2019 and 2020, yet the city’s crime rates are continuing to be out of control. Further note that the number of DWI arrests are also down dramatically by hundreds. APD’s homicide clearance rate continues to decline dramatically and thus far is at 37%.

SUPPORT SERVICES

Under the core service of Support Services, there are 9 performance measures, with the most serious being the 4 crisis intervention measurements.

No home visits by the Crisis Intervention Unit are provided for the years 2019, 2020 nor mid-year 2021. The performance measures listed are “redacted” with a grey box.

No Crisis Interventions for individuals assisted through the Crisis Intervention Unit are listed for the years 2019, 2020 nor mid-year 2021. The performance measures listed are “redacted” with a grey box.

The number of individuals assisted through COAST for 2019 are 1,405 and for 2020 are 2,037 and none for mid-year 2021.

Under Tactical Support, no statistics as to the number of tactical operations supported by the Real Time Crime Center. However, the number of calls in which the Real Time Crime Center responded to are listed as 33,066 for 2019, 28,910 for 2020, approved for 2021 were 30,000 and mid-year 2021 as 16,211.

2020 FBI CRIME STATISTICS RELEASED BY APD

Notwithstanding the failure to provide critical statistics in the proposed 2021-2022 proposed budget, relevant statistics reflecting APD performance have been gleaned from other sources, including statistics APD has reported to the FBI and news sources.

On Wednesday, February 24, 2021 APD Police Chief Harold Median released the city’s 2020 crime statistics as reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). It was the third year in a row that the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) has compiled crime statistics using the National Incident-Based Reporting System.

Each offense collected in NIBRS belongs to 1 of 3 categories:

CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS include murder, rape, and assault, and are those in which the victims are always individuals.

CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY include robbery, bribery, and burglary, or to obtain money, property, or some other benefit.

CRIMES AGAINST SOCIETY include gambling, prostitution, and drug violations, and represent society’s prohibition against engaging in certain types of activity and are typically victimless crimes.

https://ucr.fbi.gov/nibrs/2018/resource-pages/crimes_against_persons_property_and_society-2018.pdf

The statistics released on February 24 by APD reveal that during the last 3 years, Crimes Against Property have decreased by a mere 7%, but violent Crimes Against a Person and Crimes Against Society have continued to rise. Following are the raw numbers in each of the 3 categories of Albuquerque’s crime statistics:

CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY (Includes robbery, bribery, and burglary)

2018: 57,328
2019: 51,541
2020: 46,371

Crimes Against Property declined by a mere 7% from 2018 to 2020.

CRIMES AGAINST A PERSON (Include murder, rape, and assault)

2018: 14,845
2019: 14,971
2020: 15,262

Crimes Against Persons increased by 4%. The 4% increase was the same as in 2019 with assaults having a 4% rise. In 2019, violent crime increased 1%. This coincides with the city having reach 80 homicides breaking another record. Bernalillo County recorded 241 shootings. With a 2% increase in violent crime, 2020 fell short of the homicide count but had the second-highest number of homicides with 76 and with Bernalillo County reporting 292 shootings. According to the statistics released, the use of firearms as the percentage of homicides committed with a gun jumped from 69% in 2019 to 78% in 2020.

CRIMES AGAINST SOCIETY (Include gambling, prostitution, and drug violations)

2018: 3,365
2019: 3,711
2020: 3,868

Crimes Against Society had 61% increase weapons law violations in 2020. In 2019, weapons law violations, which include the illegal use, possession and sale of firearms, recorded a 19% increase and an 11% rise in drug offenses.

https://www.abqjournal.com/2363157/2020-saw-a-rise-in-violent-crime-drop-in-property-crime.html

https://www.cabq.gov/police/documents/apd-homicide-list-for-web-site-as-of-15feb2021.pdf

OTHER DUBIOUS CRIME STATISTICS

In 2020, FBI statistics reveal that Albuquerque has the dubious distinction of having a crime rate about 194% higher than the national average. Because of how misleading APD’s performance measures are in the 2022 proposed budget, the city’s crime statistics during Mayor Keller’s full 3 years in office are in order.

ARRESTS

There is a tremendous discrepancy of thousands below the actual numbers reported to the FBI as to the number of felony arrests provided in the 2022 proposed budget. The number of arrests reported in the 2022 proposed budget are:

2019: 10,945
2020: 6,621

The number of arrests reported to the FBI by APD for the four years of 2016-2019 are as follows:

2016: 14,022 total arrests made
2017: 13,582 total arrests made
2018: 15,471 total arrests made
2019: 15,151 total arrests made (NOTE: this is 4,206 more than reported in the proposed 2022 budget. With more arrests, crime should go down.)

FOUR YEAR TOTAL OF ARREST MADE BY APD: 58,226

https://www.petedinelli.com/2021/02/19/the-public-relations-firm-of-keller-1000-arrests-in-6-months-out-of-15000-average-a-year-not-enough-to-bring-crime/

HOMICIDES

In 2018, during Mayor Keller’s first full year in office, there were 69 homicides.

In 2019, during Mayor Keller’s second full year in office, there were 82 homicides.

In 2020, there were 76 homicides in Albuquerque.

As of April 3, 2021, APD has reported 34 homicides.

https://www.abqreport.com/single-post/thirty-four-homicides

Albuquerque had more homicides in 2019 than in any other year in the city’s history. The previous high was 72, in 2017 under Mayor RJ Berry. Another high mark was in 1996, when the city had 70 homicides.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1405615/apd-reports-record-82-homicides-for-2019.html#:~:text=Gilbert%20Gallegos%2C%20a%20police%20spokesman,high%20was%2072%2C%20in%202017.

HOMICIDE CLEARANCE RATES

For the past 3 years during Mayor Keller’s tenure, the homicide clearance percentage rate has been in the 50%-60% range. According to the proposed 2018-2019 APD City Budget, in 2016 the APD homicide clearance rate was 80%. In 2017, under Mayor Berry the clearance rate was 70%. In 2018, the first year of Keller’s term, the homicide clearance rate was 56%. In 2019, the second year of Keller’s term, the homicide clearance rate was 52.5%, the lowest clearance rate in the last decade. In 2020, the APD homicide clearance rate continued to deteriorate was less than 50%. The homicide clearance rate is now at 37% reported in the 2022 proposed budget.

VIOLENT CRIMES

In 2017, during Mayor RJ Berry’s last full year in office, there were 7,686 violent crimes. There were 4,213 Aggravated Assaults and 470 Non-Fatal Shootings.

In 2018 during Mayor Keller’ first full year in office, there were 6,789 violent crimes There were 3,885 Aggravated Assaults and 491 Non-Fatal Shootings.

https://www.petedinelli.com/2019/11/21/city-matches-homicide-record-high-of-72-murders-mayor-keller-forced-to-defend-policies-makes-more-promises-asks-for-more-money/

In 2019, the category of “Violent Crimes” was replaced with the category of “Crimes Against Persons” and the category includes homicide, human trafficking, kidnapping and assault. In 2019 during Keller’s second full year in office, Crimes Against Persons increased from 14,845 to 14,971, or a 1% increase. The Crimes Against Person category had the biggest rises in Aggravated Assaults increasing from 5,179 to 5,397.

In 2020 during Keller’s third full year in office, Crimes Against Persons went 2019: 14,971 in 2019 to 15,262 in 2020.

DRUG OFFENSES

“Crimes Against Society” include drug offenses, prostitution and animal cruelty.

In 2018 During Keller’s first full year in office, total Crimes Against Society were 3,365.

In 2019 during Keller’s second full year in office, total Crimes Against Society increased to 3,711 for a total increase of 346 more crimes or a 9% increase.

In 2020 during Keller’s third full year in office Crimes Against Society, had 61% increase weapons law violations last year.

AUTO THEFTS

On June 26, 2019 the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) released its annual list of cities with the most stolen vehicles reported. Despite a 28% reduction in auto thefts over a two-year period, Albuquerque ranked No. 1 in the nation for vehicle thefts per capita for the third year in a row.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimgorzelany/2019/06/27/these-are-the-cities-with-the-highest-car-theft-rates/#7c42e7d35146

911 EMERGENCY RESPONSE TIMES

In 2009, under Democrat Mayor Martin Chavez, the average 911 emergency response time to calls, whether it was a life-or-death emergency or a minor traffic crash was 8 minutes 50 seconds.

In 2011, under Republican Mayor RJ Berry the average response times to 911 emergency calls was 25 minutes.

In 2018 and 2019, under Democrat Mayor Tim Keller, the average response times to 911 emergency calls spiked to a full 48 minutes.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

For the past 3 years in a row, APD has compiled crime statistics using the National Incident-Based Reporting System in the 3 major categories as mandated by the FBI, yet the Keller Administration avoided incorporating those statistics in the 2022 proposed budget.

The Keller Administration proclaims in the proposed APD budget that it

“made the decision to “reimagine” how the City looks at performance and progress measures for services to the Albuquerque community. To kick off this work, APD is one of six departments piloting this new approach. As such, the performance measures section will look different from the rest of the departments in this document.”

It is simply a false statement that “APD is one of six departments piloting this new approach” in that when you examine all 27 individual department budgets, APD is the only department budget where entire statistical performance measure are redacted in areas with grey boxes and that’s why they “look different from the rest of the departments in this document.” No reference nor listing as to the other departments can be located.

When you look at the performance measures contained in APD’s budget, what appears is an actual “redacting” of critical statistics that renders the other statistics meaningless. APD is the one city department that is under a Department of Justice Consent decree with a Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) mandating 271 reforms. The CASA mandates 3 performance measures to be audited by a Federal Monitor.

The City Council budget process is one of the very few times that the council can bore deep down into each of the city department budgets. All too often, Mayor’s and their political operatives view the City Council more of an annoyance as opposed to being a legitimate oversight function. All to often, it becomes a process of members of the City Council asking the Mayor and his top executives the main question “What is it in this budget do you not want us to know about?”

One unmistakable conclusion that can be made is that the Keller Administration in a real sense is perpetrating a fraud on the City Council by failing to disclose material facts that are necessary to make an informed decision as to APD’s budget and performance.

Considering that Mayor Tim Keller has already announced that he is seeking a second 4-year term, it is not at all difficult to figure out why his administration took the time and effort to submit a proposed budget that “reimagines how the City looks at performance and progress measures” when it comes to APD. It is more likely than not the Keller Administration knows full well the data shows just how bad APD is failing in its mission of fighting crime and how dramatic APD has failed in its performance measures.

The City Council will now review the budget and can make changes as it sees fit. The council will hold public hearings April 29 and May 6 and has scheduled to take a final budget vote on May 17 or May 26. The enacted budget takes effect July 1, 2021.

Before the Albuquerque City Council begins public hearings, it needs to demand complete and accurate tabulation of APD’s performance measures, otherwise, they will fail in their oversight of APD and simply acting as a rubber stamp to what Mayor Keller wants.

A link to a related blog article on the entire 2021-2021 proposed budget is here:

City Releases 2021-2022 Proposed $1.2 Billion Budget, $711.5 Million General Fund Budget; City Council Must Ask “What Is In This Budget You Do Not Want Us To Know About?”

________________________________________________

POSTSCIPT

APD BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS

As has been the case for all past budgets submitted by the Keller Administration, public safety continues to be the number one priority of the proposed 2022 city budget. For that reason, the major aspects of APD’s Budget merits review.

The Albuquerque Police Department (APD) continues to be the largest budget department in the city. APD’s proposed budget of $227,696,000 is upwards of 31% of total general fund spending of $711,500,000. APD’s budget will be increased by 23.9% or $43.1 million above the 2021 fiscal budget which was $213 million.

Highlights of the APD proposed budget include:

Funding for 1,100 sworn positions and 592 civilian support positions for a total of 1,692 full-time positions. APD has 998 sworn officers after the March graduation of cadets from the APD academy. Last year’s budget also had funding for 1,100 officers, but APD has failed over the last 7 years to reach budgeted staffing levels.

$2.3 million in funding to annualize funding for 44 additional sworn officer positions added in FY/21.
$3.5 million for a 2% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA), subject to negotiations for positions associated with a union, health benefits and insurance administration.

$1.6 million for a net increase of 20 full-time positions for two full-time positions for the communications services department, one operation review language access coordinator, one senior buyer, one office assistant to support the Southeast Area Command Station and one office assistant to support the Northeast Command Station. Three full-time positions to support the Real Time Crime Center and 11 investigator positions to support internal affairs and compliance with DOJ.

$1,100,000 million for seven full-time positions added intra-year FY/21 at a total cost of including benefits and reduction of $126 thousand in contractual services for a net cost of $931 thousand.
$800,000 for the Department of Justice Independent Federal Monitor required under the Court Approved Settlement Agreement that is still pending after 6 years.
$400,000 for the Use of Force Review contract.
$800,000 thousand for the maintenance agreement for the new CAD/RMS software.
$106,000 for the family advocacy center lease.
$2,000,000 one-time funding increase Risk Recovery, which represents funding to cover litigation.
$74,000 for the Crisis Intervention (CIT) ECHO project.
$90,000 designated for the student loan forgiveness program for APD Officers.
$986,000 thousand for electronic control weapons (TAZER weapons).
$90,000 thousand for the CNM Cadet Academy.
$50,000 for the drag racing tactical plans from FY/21.

Funding for the following new positions are included:

One senior advisor to the Mayor and CAO and one internal investigations manager were created.
One violence intervention data analyst and one violence intervention special projects manager were created to support the critical mission of reducing violent gun crime in the City.
One Superintendent of Police reform position created to provide guidance in reshaping the training, internal affairs and compliance with the Department of Justice and the Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) reforms.
One Assistant City Attorney was created for APD.

On April 1, 2021, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller and the Keller administration released the 2021-2022 Proposed Operating Budget for the fiscal year that will begin on July 1, 2021 and that will end June 31, 2022. As required by state law, the city budget is a balanced budget with no deficit spending allowed by law.

The city link to the budget is here:

https://documents.cabq.gov/budget/fy-22-proposed-budget.pdf

The overall proposed budget is $1.2 billion, $711.5 million of which is the General Fund. The General Fund covers basic city services such as police protection, fire and rescue protection, the bus system, street maintenance, weekly solid waste pickup, all city park maintenance, city equipment, animal control, environmental health services, the legal department, risk management, and payroll and human resources. With 27 different departments, the city employs upwards of 6,400 full time employees to provide the essential services city wide. The $1.2 billion proposed budget is an increase of upwards of $105 million, or 9.5%, over the current levels. The general fund spending increases to $711.5 million, an increase of $39 million, or 5.8%, from present.

City Hall’s ability to boost spending by 9.5% is attributed in part to federal funding received from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Instead of using normal city revenues, the city was allowed to pay certain personnel and other costs associated with dealing with the pandemic.

City Hall was also able to increase spending in part because of a hiring freeze to keep spending flat in 2021. There are currently upwards of 665 general fund-covered jobs vacant, which is approximately 14% of the city’s workforce.

REVENUE SOURCES

The city relies upon a number of revenue sources to fund its annual budget. Those sources, and the percentage of the budget revenues they provide are as follows:

Gross Receipts Tax: 34.8%
Property Taxes: 14.0%
Other Taxes: 3.8%
Enterprise Fund Revenues: 11.9%

(Editor’s note: An “Enterprise Fund” is a city department operated with the revenues it generates, such as the Solid Waste Department and the Aviation Department.)

Charges, fines and permits: 4.1%
Interfund and Fund Balances: 25.3%
Miscellaneous Sources: 1.2%

The City of Albuquerque’s gross receipts tax (GRT) is 7.8750% and it is leveled on the sale of all goods and services in the city. GRT, the city’s Enterprise Fund revenues, and property taxes together make up 60.7% of the City’s total revenues. GRT is the City’s major source of revenue and is estimated at $421.9 million or 34.8% of total resources for FY/22. Property Tax comprises 14% of total revenue. The various enterprises operated by the City are estimated to generate 11.9% of total revenue in FY/22. Interfund transfers and the use of available fund balances make up the next category of revenue at 25.3%, while the other categories that include payments from other governmental entities, permits, fees, and other charges, comprise 14% of overall remaining City revenue.

Total operating resources for all funds is projected at $1.2 billion in FY/22. This is $105 million higher than the FY/21 original approved budget of $1.1 billion. The increase includes $34.7 million in Gross Receipts Tax (GRT), $11 million in property tax, $8.7 million in other taxes, $17.4 million in enterprise revenue, and $25.4 million in inter-fund and fund balance

DEPARTMENT BUDGETS TOTALS LISTED

The proposed budget contains a complete line-item budget for each and every city department. Following is each city department total proposed budgets with the percentage it represents of the total budget:

Albuquerque Community Safety: $7,730,000, 0.64% (New department as outlined below)

Animal Welfare: $14,006,000, 1.15%

Arts and Culture: $48,624,000, 4.01%

Aviation: $64,932,000, 5.35%

Chief Administrative Office: $2,188,000, 0.18%

City Support: $131,183,000, 10.82%

Civilian Police Oversight: $1,608,000, 0.13%

Council Services: $ 5,279,000 , 0.44%

Economic Development: $6,210,000, 0.51%

Environmental Health: $9,601,000, 0.79%

Family and Community Services: $89,769,000, 7.40%

Finance and Administrative Services: $70,434,000, 5.81%

Fire and Rescue: $101,326,000, 8.36%

Human Resources: $108,182,000, 8.92%

Legal: $8,518,000, 0.70%

Mayor’s Office: $1,120,000, 0.09%

Municipal Development: $81,109,000, 6.69%

Office of Internal Audit: $949,000, 0.08%

Office of Inspector General: $567,000, 0.05%

Office of the City Clerk: $2,885, 000, 0.24%

Parks and Recreation: $46,585,000, 3.84%

Planning: $15,930,000, 1.31%

Police: $227,696,000, 18.78%

Senior Affairs: $18,111,000, 1.49%

Solid Waste: $76,402,000, 6.30%

Technology and Innovation: $27,773,000, 2.29%

Transit: $43,980,000, 3.63%

Total Fiscal Year 2022 Budget: $1,212,697,000, 100.00%

MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS

Major highlights of the proposed budget include the following allocations:

A 2% cost-of-living pay raise for city employees.

$11 million in funding to buy Bernalillo County government out of its half of the Civic Plaza Government Center building and to renovate the 11-story structure. Bernalillo County sold its stake in the Government Center to the city for $5.55 million. Bernalillo County will be moving into its new $66.5 million headquarters located at 415 Silver SW.

$4 million for operational funding and programing for the Gateway Center homeless shelter. (More information provided below).

$3 million to support Local Economic Development Act projects.

$2 million for city vehicles.

$1.9 million for two Southwest Albuquerque spray pads, recreational areas for water play.

A $253,000 increase, or 18.7%, for the Civilian Police Oversight Agency (CPOA), including money for a new policy analyst.

$750,000 to expand a public animal spay and neuter program.

$350,000 for the Arts and Culture Department to implement an online ticketing system for its museums and the ABQ BioPark. The Arts and Culture Department was formerly known as Cultural Services Department.

$180,000 in recurring funding for Tingley Beach security guards.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The proposed Fiscal Year 2022 budget allocates $10 million in business support and economic relief programs. Highlights include:

$3 million investment in the Local Economic Development Act fund, which has helped the City retain and attract businesses like Netflix, NBC Universal, Los Poblanos, and Build With Robots.

$350,000 to support the City’s hosting of the USA Cycling National Championships, which will mark the return of national sporting events that we have attracted through our past successes like the Senior Olympics.

Full recurring funding for the Small Business Office, which has provided technical assistance to help local businesses access COVID relief programs, navigate permitting processes, and connect to resources for starting up and scaling up.

Investments to help businesses reopen and events come online again, including online ticketing systems.

Increase in permitting staff in the Planning Department to ensure that major new projects like Netflix and Orion can meet their construction and development schedules, without delaying their projects.

Full funding for the BankOn Albuquerque program, a partnership with financial institutions and the FDIC to help residents get banked and avoid costly payday loan and check cashing services.

The above programs are in addition to the $170 million in capital projects currently under construction and an additional $100 million in projects to be awarded before the end of the calendar year.

SOCIAL SERVICES AND PUBLIC HEALTH CARE

The City works extensively with the State and County to provide social services and housing to people who are medically vulnerable and/or homeless. To that end, the 2022 proposed budget includes the following line-item appropriations:

$4 million in recurring funding and $2 million in one-time funding for supportive housing programs in the City’s Housing First model.

$4.7 million net to operate the City’s first Gateway Center at the Gibson Medical Facility, including revenue and expenses for facility operation and program operations.

$24 million in Emergency Rental Assistance from the federal government, which the City will make available in partnership with the State.

$500 thousand to fund Albuquerque Street Connect, a program that focuses on people experiencing homelessness who use the most emergency services and care, to establish ongoing relationships that result in permanent supportive housing.

$214 thousand to staff the senior meal home delivery program, which has delivered over 390,000 meals to seniors since the pandemic started.

APD BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS

As has been the case for all past budgets submitted by the Keller Administration, public safety continues to be the number one priority of the proposed 2022 city budget. For that reason, the major aspects of APD’s Budget merits review.

The Albuquerque Police Department (APD) continues to be the largest budget department in the city. APD’s proposed budget of $227,696,000 is upwards of 31% of total general fund spending of $711,500,000. APD’s budget will be increased by 23.9% or $43.1 million above the 2021 fiscal budget which was $213 million.

Highlights of the APD proposed budget include:

Funding for 1,100 sworn positions and 592 civilian support positions for a total of 1,692 full-time positions. APD has 998 sworn officers after the March graduation of cadets from the APD academy. Last year’s budget also had funding for 1,100 officers, but APD has failed over the last 7 years to reach budgeted staffing levels.

$2.3 million in funding to annualize funding for 44 additional sworn officer positions added in FY/21.

$3.5 million for a 2% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA), subject to negotiations for positions associated with a union, health benefits and insurance administration.

$1.6 million for a net increase of 20 full-time positions for two full-time positions for the communications services department, one operation review language access coordinator, one senior buyer, one office assistant to support the Southeast Area Command Station and one office assistant to support the Northeast Command Station. Three full-time positions to support the Real Time Crime Center and 11 investigator positions to support internal affairs and compliance with DOJ.

$1,100,000 million for seven full-time positions added intra-year FY/21 at a total cost of including benefits and reduction of $126 thousand in contractual services for a net cost of $931 thousand.

$800,000 for the Department of Justice Independent Federal Monitor required under the Court Approved Settlement Agreement that is still pending after 6 years.

$400,000 for the Use of Force Review contract,

$800,000 thousand for the maintenance agreement for the new CAD/RMS software.

$106,000 for the family advocacy center lease.

$2,000,000 one-time funding increase Risk Recovery, which represents funding to cover litigation.

$74,000 for the Crisis Intervention (CIT) ECHO project.

$90,000 designated for the student loan forgiveness program for APD Officers.

$986,000 thousand for electronic control weapons (TAZER weapons).

$90,000 thousand for the CNM Cadet Academy.

$50,000 for the drag racing tactical plans from FY/21.

Funding for the following new positions are included:

One senior advisor to the Mayor and CAO and one internal investigations manager were created.

One violence intervention data analyst and one violence intervention special projects manager were created to support the critical mission of reducing violent gun crime in the City.

One Superintendent of Police reform position created to provide guidance in reshaping the training, internal affairs and compliance with the Department of Justice and the Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) reforms.

One Assistant City Attorney was created for APD.

NEW COMMUNITY SAFETY DEPARTMENT

In was in June of last year that Mayor Tim Keller announced the creation of the Albuquerque Community Safety Department (ACS). The new department as announced was to be responsible to send trained professionals to respond to certain calls for service in place of armed APD police officers or firefighters. It was to be an entirely new city department that was to be on equal footing with all the other 19 city departments, including APD and AFRD, that have hundreds of employees and separate functions, tasks, and services.

The ACS as originally presented by Mayor Keller was to have social workers, housing and homelessness specialists and violence prevention and diversion program experts. They were to be dispatched to homelessness and “down-and-out” calls as well as behavioral health crisis calls for service to APD. The new department envisioned will connect people in need with services to help address any underlying issues. The department personnel would be dispatched through the city’s 911 emergency call system. The intent is to free up the first responders, either police or firefighters, who typically have to deal with down-and-out and behavioral health calls.

During last year’s budget process, the Albuquerque City Council severely parred down the proposed new department. The new department as originally proposed by Keller was to have 192 employees, Keller cut it to 100 positions and then the City Council gutted it to 13 positions. The projected budget went from $10.9 Million as originally proposed by Keller then it was reduced to $7.5 Million, the City Council then slashed the budget further to $2.5 Million.

The 2022 proposed city budget provides for a Community Safety budget of $7.7 million with 61 total employees across a range of specialties in social work and counseling to provide behavioral health services.

GATEWAY CENTER HOMELESS SHELTER

On November 5, 2020 voters approved a general obligation bond package which included $14 million for a city operated 24-7 homeless shelter later named the Gateway Center. The 2022 proposed city budget includes operational funding of $4 million for programming for the new Gateway Center Homeless Shelter.

In January, 2021 the Keller Administration announced that it had finalized the purchased of the former Lovelace Hospital on Gibson for $15 million for the Gateway Center. The Loveless facility is a 529,000-square-foot building. The facility has a 201-bed capacity, but remodeling could likely increase capacity significantly. The current plan is to remodel the Lovelace Hospital to include a 150 to 175 standard shelter and include housing for 25 to 50 people who do not have homes and who are recovering from acute illness and injury.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

The City Council budget process is one of the very few times that the council can bore deep down into each of the city department budgets. All too often, Mayor’s and their political operatives view the City Council more of an annoyance as opposed to being a legitimate oversight function. All to often, it becomes a process of members of the City Council asking the Mayor and his top executives the main question “What is it in this budget do you not want us to know about?” or put it another way “What is it that you are hiding?”

The City Council will now review the budget and can make changes as it sees fit. The council will hold public hearings April 29 and May 6 and has scheduled to take a final budget vote on May 17 or May 26. The enacted budget takes effect July 1, 2021.

A link to a related blog article is here:

https://www.petedinelli.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=13695&action=edit

On May 25, African American George Floyd died when Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, was taking Floyd into custody and pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck for over 9 minutes. Derek Chauvin was charged with the murder and manslaughter. On Monday, March 29, Chauvin’s trial commenced and the first week of his trial ended on April 2.

At issue was Chauvin’s use of deadly force used to subdue George Floyd to arrest him on charges of passing a counterfeit $20 bill to purchase a pack of cigarettes. More than a few bystander’s cell phone video caught the incident while Floyd struggled as he said at least 14 times “I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe” and crying out for his mother, until he succumbed to death.

NBC NEWS REPORT

On April 3, NBC News on line published an excellent summation as to what was revealed during the first week of the Derek Chauvin trial. The report was written by Janelle Griffith, a national reporter for NBC News focusing on issues of race and policing. Following is the written text with a link to the full article and followed by Commentary and Analysis:

“The first week of the trial of the former Minneapolis police officer charged with murder in George Floyd’s death concluded Friday with the longest-serving member of the police department testifying that it was “totally unnecessary” for Derek Chauvin to kneel on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes as he lay handcuffed on his stomach.

Kneeling on Floyd’s neck while he was in the prone position was “top-tier, deadly force” that didn’t need to be used in that situation, testified Lt. Richard Zimmerman, who joined the department in 1985.

“If your knee is on a person’s neck, that can kill him,” Zimmerman said.

Zimmerman, who leads the department’s homicide unit, also testified that once Floyd was handcuffed, he saw “no reason for why the officers felt they were in danger, if that’s what they felt. And that’s what they would have to feel to be able to use that kind of force.”

Under cross-examination, Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, noted that Zimmerman has not worked as a patrol officer for several years and does not teach defensive tactics. Zimmerman testified officers had not been trained to kneel on a person’s neck.

His testimony, along with that of a more than a dozen other witnesses for the state, including the young woman who recorded the viral video that brought national attention to Floyd’s death, contributed to what some legal experts say was a strong week for the prosecution.

Mary Moriarty, the former chief public defender of Hennepin County, where Chauvin is being tried on charges of second- and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, said “the prosecution had an exceptional week” and that the defense’s goal “should have been to avoid any self-inflicted damage” — a challenge she said the defense did not meet.

Three other officers — Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao — are charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter and are scheduled for trial in August.

“For whatever reason, the defense asked a number of unfortunate questions, which allowed more damaging testimony to be heard by the jury,” Moriarty said.

One such example was Tuesday, when Nelson asked 18-year-old Darnella Frazier — who recorded a video of Chauvin as he knelt on Floyd’s neck and uploaded it to Facebook last May, igniting international protests over racism and police brutality — if the video had changed her life.

The prosecution objected but was overruled, and Frazier, who was 17 at the time of the fatal arrest, answered that it had.

“It was then left hanging as though we were supposed to infer that her video made her a celebrity, I guess,” Moriarty said. “But clearly the defense didn’t know the answer — a cardinal rule in cross-examination — and the state asked her how it had changed her life.”

Frazier told prosecutor Jerry Blackwell she sometimes lies awake at night “apologizing and apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more and not physically interacting and not saving his life.” And in an apparent reference to Chauvin, she added, “But it’s like, it’s not what I should have done, it’s what he should have done.”

“When I look at George Floyd, I look at my dad,” Frazier said. “I look at my brothers. I look at my cousins, my uncles because they are all Black. I have a Black father. I have a Black brother. I have Black friends. And I look at that, and I look at how that could have been one of them.”

On the day of Floyd’s death, Frazier said, she had been walking to Cup Foods, a convenience store, with her 9-year-old cousin to get some snacks when they came upon the arrest. A cashier at the store suspected Floyd used a fake $20 bill to buy cigarettes and one of his colleagues called 911.

9 MINUTES, 29 SECONDS

In his opening statement, prosecutor Blackwell told jurors that Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes, 29 seconds. The time has fluctuated. In an initial complaint, it was recorded as 8 minutes, 46 seconds, which became a rallying cry for months at protests in Minneapolis and across the country.

During his opening statement, Nelson claimed Floyd’s death was caused by his drug use, underlying health conditions and the adrenaline flowing through his body. An autopsy found fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system.

Nelson also suggested that the crowd of onlookers who witnessed Floyd’s death May 25 had made the responding officers worry for their safety and diverted their attention from him.

SPARK-OF-LIFE TESTIMONY

Prosecutors tried to present a fuller picture of who Floyd was and undercut any argument that he died of a drug overdose through the testimony of his girlfriend, Courteney Ross.
Ross, 45, testified Thursday, through tears and giggles, about how she and Floyd met in August 2017 at a Salvation Army where he worked as a security guard. She said it was one of her “favorite stories” to tell. She also spoke at length about their shared opioid addiction.

“Both Floyd and I, our story, it’s a classic story of how many people get addicted to opioids,” she told prosecutor Matthew Frank. “We both struggled from chronic pain. Mine was in my neck and his was in his back.”

She said they “tried really hard to break that addiction many times.”

She also disclosed how devastated Floyd was when his mother died in May 2018.

Former Miami federal prosecutor David Weinstein said prosecutors used a legal doctrine called “spark of life” to call Ross to the stand. Since the late ’80s, Minnesota has allowed spark-of-life testimony ahead of a verdict, Weinstein said.

“The jury is going to focus on what they can see. Murder victims can’t talk,” Weinstein said with regard to the significance of spark-of-life testimony. “Their testimony has to come out from people around them.”

There were multiple reasons prosecutors had Ross testify about Floyd and his drug use. Among them, Weinstein said, was to undercut the defense’s claim that Floyd died of a drug overdose and to argue that he had a high tolerance for opioids. It was also to humanize Floyd and for people to sympathize with how he became addicted to opioids.

He said the prosecution knew the defense was going to attack Floyd and his drug addiction and that having Ross discuss it “was very effective” because she was not “over the top.”

“It was going to come out one way or the other,” Weinstein said. “They anticipated this. It’s always good to get ahead of something, and you don’t want the jury to think you’re hiding something from them.”
Moriarty said Ross’ discussion about Floyd’s drug addiction and how it started “effectively took the sting out of the testimony by not leaving it to the defense.”

“We know that George Floyd, like many Americans, struggled with an opioid addiction that began with prescription pills,” Moriarty said. “Chances are many jurors know of someone who has dealt with that same struggle.”

The defense was able to poke holes in some witness testimony this week, Weinstein said.

Nelson asked Ross about Floyd’s pet name for her that was saved in his phone — which was “Mama.” That called into question whether Floyd was calling out for his mother as he lay pinned to the pavement — as has been widely reported — or Ross.

Security videos from inside Cup Foods made public for the first time Wednesday showed what happened before Floyd’s deadly encounter with police.

The audio was withheld from the store video, which showed Floyd chatting and laughing with shoppers and employees as he moved around the store.

Christopher Martin, 19, the cashier who first confronted Floyd about the $20 bill, testified Wednesday that he felt “disbelief and guilt” when he saw Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck in front of the store after a co-worker called 911 and that he regretted flagging the bill.

“If I would’ve just not taken the bill, this could’ve been avoided,” Martin said, as he reviewed video of himself outside the store with his hands over his head.

Weinstein said the testimony that was connected to the many videos and photos shown this week — including from police body cameras, security video and inside the ambulance, where paramedics attempted to resuscitate Floyd — “put the jurors right there in the middle of what was going on and gave them a full, working knowledge of what was taking place and then a look into the mind of the defendant when he was doing what he did, including the amount of time he had his knee on Floyd’s neck.”

Both Weinstein and Moriarty said they believe Nelson’s claim that the crowd of onlookers — many of whom were shouting at Chauvin to get off Floyd — may have distracted officers and affected their response or posed a threat to the responding officers was unsubstantiated.

“I thought the defense might back off from that theory given that we were introduced to most of the spectators and we now know them to be ordinary people who simply wanted to help,” Moriarty said.
On Friday, Zimmerman testified, “The crowd, as long as they’re not attacking you, the crowd really doesn’t, shouldn’t, have an effect on your actions.”

SECURITY AND OTHER VIDEO

Security videos from inside Cup Foods made public for the first time Wednesday showed what happened before Floyd’s deadly encounter with police.

The audio was withheld from the store video, which showed Floyd chatting and laughing with shoppers and employees as he moved around the store.

Christopher Martin, 19, the cashier who first confronted Floyd about the $20 bill, testified Wednesday that he felt “disbelief and guilt” when he saw Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck in front of the store after a co-worker called 911 and that he regretted flagging the bill.

“If I would’ve just not taken the bill, this could’ve been avoided,” Martin said, as he reviewed video of himself outside the store with his hands over his head.

Weinstein said the testimony that was connected to the many videos and photos shown this week — including from police body cameras, security video and inside the ambulance, where paramedics attempted to resuscitate Floyd — “put the jurors right there in the middle of what was going on and gave them a full, working knowledge of what was taking place and then a look into the mind of the defendant when he was doing what he did, including the amount of time he had his knee on Floyd’s neck.”

Both Weinstein and Moriarty said they believe Nelson’s claim that the crowd of onlookers — many of whom were shouting at Chauvin to get off Floyd — may have distracted officers and affected their response or posed a threat to the responding officers was unsubstantiated.

“I thought the defense might back off from that theory given that we were introduced to most of the spectators and we now know them to be ordinary people who simply wanted to help,” Moriarty said.

On Friday, Zimmerman testified, “The crowd, as long as they’re not attacking you, the crowd really doesn’t, shouldn’t, have an effect on your actions.”

The link to NBC news story is here:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/here-s-what-was-revealed-first-week-derek-chauvin-trial-n1262932

DINELLI COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

The police body camera video presented in court of George Floyd being pulled from the police vehicle by 3 officers and Chauvin placing his knee on Floyd’s neck was as compelling and disturbing as it gets. From what was revealed in police lapel video camera, the police escalated the custody by using unnecessary or excessive force. There was no need for the use of deadly force, which ultimately is what happened with the knee on the neck. The police made no effort to de-escalate or to try and settle Floyd down.

When the police arrived and first approached Floyd sitting on the driver’s side of his car, the police officer had pulled his revolver out and on the lapel camera footage, he is shown pointing his revolver at Floyds face. Floyd panicked and essentially began to plead for his life saying please don’t shoot me. Floyd was eventually pulled out of his car and his hands were handcuffed behind him. Floyd was ordered to sit on the sidewalk and he complied and sat for a few minutes.

After a few minutes of sitting on the sidewalk, Floyd was taken across the street and placed in a police SUV with a “back caged” area. Floyd was literally shoved inside the car in the back seat cage area on his side, handcuffed hands behind his back. Once inside and laying on his side with his hands handcuffed behind him he had difficulty breathing and Floyd panicked and began to kick and flail begging with the police to get him out and not to be arrested.

The so called “crowd” was a group of a few adults and mostly minors. Various witnesses did yell at the police telling them to stop, but did not assault the police and they did what the police instructed them to do which was to stand clear and on the side walk.

Although George Floyd was clearly upset in the vehicle, he was not at all confrontational and did not threaten the police. The police escalated the arrest by pulling and dragging George Floyd out the police vehicle car and while handcuffed and face down next to the police vehicle front tire, Officer Derek Chauvin placed his right knee on the neck George Floyd, cutting off blood supply. Soon Floyd was unconscious and non-responsive. Before becoming unconscious George Floyd cried out “I can’t breath” at least 17 times in an agitated state and cried out for “mother” but Chauvin continued with the neck hold for a full 9 minutes, 45 seconds, during which time para medics were called for assistance and they arrived within minutes.

Upon arrival, the paramedics found George Floyd totally unresponsive, placed him in the ambulance and drove around the corner and administered medical care in an attempt to revive him by CPR and administering electric chest shock. One para medic testified that he felt Floyd was already dead when he was picked up off the street and place him on the gurney.

Testimony revealed that George Floyd was under the influence of fentanyl at the time and it was noted he was “frothing at the mouth” and in an agitated state while Chauvin had his knee on the neck of Floyd. The fentanyl was not the likely cause of the frothing at the mouth nor the bleeding from the nose, but was a sign that Floyd’s body reacting to the choke hold and he was dying resulting in his body discharging fluids. Once Floyd was subdued and passed out and not moving, Chauvin was required by his training deescalate the use of force and even give first aide.

Stay tune for the autopsy report as to the cause of death and the testimony that George Floyd had drugs in his system, Derek Chauvin acted as he was trained and that he was in fear for his life.

FINAL COMMENTS

A conviction required by a unanimous verdict and a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt. A verdict must be unanimous for a conviction or acquittal and if only one juror feels that the police officer acted reasonably, a mistrial is declared. It would be a major mistake to assume that a conviction of the police officer is all but certain. Far from it. When it comes to prosecuting police officers, jurors are essentially asked to review the evidence from the standpoint of the police officers, not the witnesses to the event. The jury must decide if the officer’s use of force or deadly force was justified to protect themselves or others or for that matter if the force was reasonable given all the facts and circumstances.

On March 31, New Mexico became the 18 state to legalize recreational cannabis. On Tuesday, March 30, House Bill 2, a 178-page bill, cleared the state House 38-32. On Wednesday, the bill passed the Sente on a 22-15 vote. Two Senate Democrats Roberto “Bobby” Gonzales of Taos and Shannon Pinto of Gallup joining with Republicans in voting “no”.

New Mexico already has a medical cannabis program that has more than 107,000 enrolled patients.

HIGHLIGHTS OF LEGISLATION

Major highlights of the enacted House Bill 2 are:

The sale of recreational cannabis will be legal in May, 2022.

The bill allows people 21 years or older to buy, possess and use marijuana outside the home up to 2 ounces of marijuana. People will be able to buy no more than 2 ounces of cannabis or 800 milligrams of edible cannabis. There are also limits on extracts. It is estimated that sales will generate more than $300 million in revenue for the state.

The state will regulate all sellers and there will be no limits on the number of licenses issued. This is a dramatic departure from the limited number of licenses available in liquor licenses which have a cap based upon population.

There will be a cap on the number of plants sellers can grow.

People who have been convicted of possessing it for personal use will have their criminal record expunged.

Cannabis establishments could also offer on-site consumption in certain circumstances.

Households would be permitted to grow up to 12 mature plants for personal use.

Local jurisdictions, city and counties, cannot opt out of commercial sales, but can establish restrictions on operating hours and locations. The legislation give local governments some authority to determine where cannabis dispensaries can be located.

The state’s counties will not have the authority to be able to prohibit cannabis sales nor prohibit the licensing of stores. In other words, local zoning rules would have been able to be used to control the number of stores in an area where they the stores could be located. This is identical to zoning restrictions placed on retail stores that sell pornography.

The state would levy a 12% excise tax on sales to start, and the tax would grow to 18% over time. Gross receipts taxes would also be added on, pushing the total tax rate to 20%. There will be a maximum 20% tax on it.

The sponsors of the legislation are Rep. Javier Martinez, Rep. Andrea Romero, Rep. Debbie Armstrong, Sen. Linda Lopez, Sen. Katy Duhigg and Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino.

Main sponsor Rep. Javier Martinez (D- Albuquerque) had this to say about the passage:

“I’m just very excited for the people in the state of New Mexico. … I think the people deserve a big transformative win like this one. I can’t wait for this industry to get to work and create jobs and bring revenues for our state.”

GOVERNOR’S REACTION

After passage Governor Michell Lujan sent out the following statement:

“This is a significant victory for New Mexico. Workers will benefit from the opportunity to build careers in this new economy. Entrepreneurs will benefit from the opportunity to create lucrative new enterprises. The state and local governments will benefit from the additional revenue. Consumers will benefit from the standardization and regulation that comes with a bona fide industry. And those who have been harmed by this country’s failed war on drugs, disproportionately communities of color, will benefit from our state’s smart, fair and equitable new approach to past low-level convictions.

There were more than a few significant breakthroughs in the 60-day session. This is yet another one. As New Mexicans know, I have advocated and pushed and negotiated for this measure, and I am immensely proud and humbled to have seen it through. But that feeling is dwarfed by the gratitude I feel for the well-informed advocates, to the community members from all across the state – urban and rural, from every region– who have been committed to lobbying for this, to the leaders in the Legislature who helped us cross this major threshold.
…
This is a good bill. This special session was a success. And the work of making sure that this industry is a success, that New Mexicans are able to reap the full economic and social benefit of legalized adult-use cannabis, that workplace and roadway safety are assured to the greatest degree possible – that work will go on. Change never comes easily and rarely does it occur as quickly as we might like. But with this major step forward, we are signaling more clearly than ever before that we are ready, as a state, to truly break new ground, to think differently about ourselves and our economic future, to fearlessly invest in ourselves and in the limitless potential of New Mexicans.”

Links to news sources are here:

https://www.krqe.com/news/politics-government/recreational-marijuana-bill-heads-to-the-senate/

https://www.koat.com/article/recreational-cannabis-bill-heads-to-governors-desk/35881004

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico-news/nm-senate-passes-recreational-marijuana-bill/6059537/?cat=500

https://www.abqjournal.com/2375439/marijuana-legalization-clears-nm-house.html

EXPUNGEMENT OF MARIJUANA CONVICTIONS

On Wednesday March 31, the special session of the legislature also enacted Senate Bill 2 that will wipe certain cannabis-related convictions off New Mexicans’ criminal records. The Senate voted 23-13 along party lines to pass the legislation with majority Democrats voting in favor and Republican’s casting “no” votes. Senate Bill 2 also cleared the House on a 41-28 vote.

The expungement of records legislation is a companion measure to separate legislation that would legalize possession of up to 2 ounces of cannabis outside the home. The approved legislation orders the expungement of criminal records for marijuana-related offenses that would fall under the separately proposed cannabis legalization law. It also authorizes the release of New Mexicans jailed for minor cannabis-related offenses, though it is unclear exactly how many inmates might be freed.

The burden for reviewing criminal records for expungement eligibility will fall largely under the Department of Public Safety and the state’s court system. Department of Corrections spokesman Eric Harrison said that just 50 inmates at state prisons were incarcerated on charges that included marijuana possession, but none of them was in custody solely because of pot possession.

https://www.abqjournal.com/2375454/cannabis-expungement-bill-gets-senate-approval.html

ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES

During the last two years, bills to legalize recreational cannabis have not gone forward in the Senate because 4 conservative Democrats formed a coalition with Republican Senators to oppose all the legislation. Four conservative incumbent Democrats were ousted by progressive challengers in the June primary election and three progressive Democrats went on to win election to the Senate in the November 3 general election. Long time serving Democrats Senate Finance Committee Chairman John Arthur Smith, Senate President Pro Tem Mary Kay Papen, Clemente Sanchez of Grants and Senator Gabe Ramos of Silver City were all defeated in the June primary.

NEW INDUSTRY BENEFTING ECONOMY

New Mexico already has a marijuana decriminalization law on its books. Last year, Governor Lujan Grisham signed into law a bill that made possession of up to a half-ounce of cannabis a civil offense punishable with a $50 fine. The governor and other supporters say legalization is still necessary, arguing it would generate tax dollars that could be used on public safety programs.

There are 17 other states that have now legalized recreational marijuana The states of Arizona, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota approved cannabis legalization measures in the November 3 general Presidential election. On March 31, the state of New York legalized recreational cannabis. Mississippi has approved the creation of a medical marijuana program.

The Arizona passage gave urgency to the passing similar legislation in New Mexico to take advantage of the emerging market and demand. Governor Lujan Grisham and other supporters say legalization is still necessary, arguing it would generate tax dollars that could be used on public safety programs.

Duke Rodriguez, president and CEO of Ultra Health, New Mexico’s largest medical marijuana company told lawmakers during legislative committee hearings that they need to think broadly about the future of New Mexico’s marijuana industry. According to Rodriquez, New Mexico will be “a production juggernaut” and a magnet for tourists and cannabis patients from Texas, despite federal prohibitions against transporting cannabis across state lines.

Advocates of recreational legalization argue it will generate at least 13,000 jobs and millions of dollars for the economy. Rodriguez, also told lawmakers that legalizing recreational marijuana will generate up to $800 million a year, a $200 million increase from the last years estimate of $600 million. Rodriguez had this to say:

“It’s going to change New Mexico and ways we can’t imagine. … I think we will be a powerhouse, not only within the state, but we have the potential of being a powerhouse not only in this country, but you’d be surprised, we have the ability to also compete internationally.”

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/recreational-marijuana-could-generate-up-to-800-million-a-year-according-to-new-estimates/5921047/?utm_medium=onsite&utm_campaign=thumbnails&utm_source=zetaglobal

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

After a full two years of debate and past efforts to legalize recreational cannabis, its passage was long overdue. The enacted legislation was well thought out and takes the approach of legalize, regulate and tax.